After she had gotten off the carriage, everything was pretty simple. The captain would introduce them to the army while all they had to do was to stand still and look pretty.

Naturally, there were a few discontented soldiers that were annoyed at the fact that s.h.i.+ro was an S ranked mage that was placed in the elite squad.

A few short spars with s.h.i.+ro shut them up.

Currently, they were in a tent discussing the next steps that they should take.

"The cultists are bunkering down on the second layer of defence. The moment we break through the first line, we'll be pincered by the mages so that's why we haven't made any decent progress in that front." The commander said whilst pointing at a map of the Keep.

"Can't you go around the back? Pincer them and spread their man power."

"That would be a good idea if they didn't have summoned monsters. They seem to have an unlimited amount of summoner's that can replenish their man power. With everyone monster we kill 2 more appear." The commander sighed.

"Then what if we bombard them with every mage we have? If we continue to bombard them, surely they'll run out of summoners."

"It isn't going to be that easy." s.h.i.+ro suddenly cut in.

"Oh? Why?" The commander asked as he was eager to know of her thoughts. Since she was an amazing mage, she may know something that they don't.

"The source of the monsters originates from the top of the tower. You can't see it but there is a huge shadow dragon. Every second, it's collecting a sort of miasma from every direction. Not only that, but it sp.a.w.ns the monsters from that miasma. So unless we take care of the dragon, we won't be able to get rid of the monster soldiers." s.h.i.+ro explained seriously as she had a theory about the dragon.

When she saw the black miasma, she noticed that it was very similar to the spirit's aura from the places where there were infected.

Back in Hythe and the cargo that she had burnt. They had a type of infection that killed the people and fuelled the spirits.

Her theory was that the life force of humans feed the spirits while they funnel their power into the dragon. If Hythe and Norbury had these infected areas, then surely the other towns would also have the infection.

Regarding this, they had two choices. Either destroy all of the infection and the spirits or kill the dragon.

Naturally, the easiest would be to kill the dragon. However, even if she killed the dragon, there was no telling if the spirits would stop. All that they'll achieve after killing the dragon is make the spirits lose their target. Once that happens, all of the power would be used for themselves, allowing them to grow at an outrageous pace.

"How can you see it then?" They asked.

"Because I can. That and I believe that you should have news about infections breaking out in multiple towns. I believe that it is the work of the dragon so not only do we need to kill the dragon, but we also need to stop the infections." s.h.i.+ro retorted as she crossed her legs.

"I do indeed have news about a recent epidemic that had been spreading rapidly through the towns. However, from what I've heard, healing magic doesn't work on them. The most it will do is relieve the pain of the patients but not cure them of the infection." The commander frowned.

"That's because the source of the infection is spirits. You'll need to find exorcists to actually cure the patients of their infections. Have the exorcists kill the spirits while the healers tend to the patient and you should be able to resolve the epidemic." s.h.i.+ro waved her hand.

"What's an exorcist?" The commander asked.

'This world is f*cked.'

"Basically, an exorcist is someone who can kill spirits/ghosts/phantoms and the likes. They'll be able to see supernatural forces and help purge the evil spirits." s.h.i.+ro tried to explain.

"This is the first time I've heard of something like this. But I do know that the saints have a skill that sounds similar to what you're describing."

"Purification?" s.h.i.+ro asked.

"Yes."

"Hmm, purification can work but it's still better to get an exorcist. Because unlike saints who will need to use purification without seeing the target, exorcists will be able to efficiently dispose of the spirits. So unless you have enough saints and enough potions to help them regain mana, it would take a long time to cure the infected. Not only that, but since you can't see the spirits, you wouldn't know if a spirit escaped or not and an infection could break out once more in the future." s.h.i.+ro warned.

"How do we get something we never heard of before?" The commander asked as the corner of his lips twitched slightly.

"Arg! I don't know. I'm an ice mage, not an exorcist. Plus, I'm only 13. It's not like I have the key to all the knowledge in the world!" s.h.i.+ro replied as she had the urge to flip the table.

She didn't know exorcists trained to get their cla.s.s as she never needed that information. With him asking her about how to get one, it was akin to a child asking why the table was called a table and why the sky was called a sky.

'I only know about exorcists ok?! I don't know how they came to be!'

*cough cough!

The commander coughed in embarra.s.sment as he realised that they, a group of grown men, were depending on a 13 year old for answers. Not only that, but they were listening to her as if she was the leader.

"Ahem. So basically, we should have the saints going from town to town to try to purify the infected and stabilise the situation. Since we can't fully solve the issue, we'll have to make do with what we have right now." The commander said as he regained his bearings.

"However, even if we try to stabilise the situation, the pressing concern about what they're doing inside the keep is still a mystery. And like s.h.i.+ro had said, there is a shadow dragon of sorts producing the man power for the cultists. I have a suggestion, one of which you already know but with some minor adjustments." He said as he drew their attention to the map.

"Like before, we'll have you enter the keep through the hidden tunnel that we have been digging for the past few weeks. Once you get inside the keep, I want you to eliminate all enemy forces and try to bring back any intel you can get your hands on. Also, if you find a way to kill the dragon, kill it. No mercy. If the dragon dies, the cultists lose their advantage of manpower. And once they lose that advantage, we'll be able to storm the keep without any problems." He continued as he glanced at the group.

"You can go to the armoury to see if there is anything else that you want to take with you. We'll start the operation in 2 hours so get yourself ready before that. Meeting Adjourned."

With the meeting over, the group walked to the armoury. Naturally, s.h.i.+ro didn't care much as she didn't need any of the weapons they provided.

However, Alex, Nathan, Felicia and Emilie all got rather significant upgrades in terms of weapons. Not only that, but s.h.i.+ro could tell that they couldn't wait to test the weapons out.

"Don't be so hasty. You'll have plenty of time to test out the weapons once we get into the keep." s.h.i.+ro smiled as she sat on some boxes.

"Are you not going to get a weapon? All of the weapons here is worth a fortune outside." Alex asked.

"My weapon is my magic, why would I need to get some cold weapons?" s.h.i.+ro raised an eyebrow.

"In case you enter a mana restricted zone or if the corridors are too narrow for you. You can get a pair of daggers to help you with fighting off the cultists." Nathan said whilst throwing a pair of white daggers to s.h.i.+ro.

Shrugging her shoulders, she didn't reject the daggers since he does make a point.

After all the preparations were done, they started to walk towards the hidden tunnel that they had dug out. They couldn't go with carriage since it'll be too eye catching.

"Here we are. The commander told me to pa.s.s this message on to you. Remember, once you're inside the keep, kill all the cultists no mercy. Bring back any intel and kill the dragon while you're at it." The guide said as he gestured to the hole in the wall.

"Consider it done." Alex grinned as he led the party inwards.

Following behind Alex, s.h.i.+ro would occasionally glance at the walls. It gave her an odd feeling as if it wasn't a wall but in fact, a living being.

Narrowing her eyes, she would make a mark on the walls every few steps just in case.

But contrary to her worries, nothing had happened and they successfully reached the Keep prison.

"Alright, from the map they gave us, we'll be going up the prison and into the side hall. After that, we'll clear out the main hall. Emilie and Felicia, we'll need you to get some high ground and keep an eye out for anyone coming as reinforcements. While you do that, feel free to snipe a few cultists on the battlements." Alex ordered with a rare sense of seriousness.

"Let's give them h.e.l.l." He grinned and charged up the stairs.

Following after him, s.h.i.+ro flicking her wrist as several ice spears materialised and floated around them.

*BANG BANG BANG!!!

Not too long after, the sounds of combat rang out as the twins started to parkour up the walls and onto the ceiling for some high ground.

s.h.i.+ro, Alex and Nathan cut down the cultists easily. A single swipe of her dagger was enough to kill the cultists while using her magic was just overkill for them.

The body count increased quickly as they made their way to the main hall. However, the main hall was oddly quiet since there were no enemies at all.

But s.h.i.+ro knew otherwise. Looking up, she could see the faint outline of a giant arachnid type monster.

10 disgustingly long shadow limbs stretched out from its body along with several tentacle shadows that sprouted from its back. The tentacles would occasionally merge into a larger tentacle which only served to disgust her even further.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked as he saw s.h.i.+ro looking up.

"Shadow monster above us. 10 legs, bunch of tentacles on its back." s.h.i.+ro summarised quickly before slamming her hand into the ground.

*KRRRR!!!!

5 ice pillars shot upwards and stabbed the monster on its back.

"KISHAAA!!!" Suddenly screaming out in pain due to the ice that had pierced its sh.e.l.l, the monster collapsed from the ceiling and slammed against the ground, causing a cloud of dust to appear.

The party had to quickly cover their ears from the piercing scream they just heard.

"Focus on keeping your guard up and stay on the run while I kill this monster!" s.h.i.+ro shouted out as she had no time to entertain her teammates. To put matters crudely, they're useless right now.

Yin Style Phantom Arts: 2nd Phantom + 3rd Phantom.

Her body flickered and dodged the tentacles that had stabbed towards her.

Slas.h.i.+ng her dagger, s.h.i.+ro frowned as she realised the lack of damage the daggers had done.

Throwing the daggers away, she constructed a few ice spears with a single snap of her fingers.

"KISHAAA!!!" The monster roared out before stabbing all ten of its legs into the ground.

s.h.i.+ro could feel the ground shake as if something was approaching and flipped backwards and away from danger.

*BANG!!!!

From her view, she could see 10 spikes suddenly pierce through her previous spot.

Grinning slightly, s.h.i.+ro created an ice platform and launched her body towards the legs/spikes.

Yin Style Phantom Arts: 3rd Phantom - Counter Weight Phantom.

*PUs.h.i.+!!!!

Ripping the legs off the monster with ease, she flicked her wrist and sent them flying back at the monster.

Only just understanding the difference in strength between it and her, the monster turned its body and attempted to run away.

However, s.h.i.+ro wasn't about to let it run.

*BANG!

Clutching her fist, a cage of ice appeared around the monster and slammed it into the ground. #

"KRR KISHA! KSHH!!" Thras.h.i.+ng around the cage, the monster struggled for its life.

"Hou hou, you aren't getting out of this missy's cage any time soon." s.h.i.+ro laughed as she landed in front of the cage.

The party, who had stabilised themselves, walked over to s.h.i.+ro.

"So the monster is in the cage?" Alex asked as he glanced at the cage sceptically. He could hear the monster, feel the shaking from each of the movements, but he could not see of sense the monster.

"Yeah, I'm going to end it right now." s.h.i.+ro replied as a spear appeared in her hands.

She stabbed towards the monster with a single swift movement.

However, the monster curled up its body in an act to defend itself.

*DING!

To her surprise, its sh.e.l.l had actually deflected her spear.

Frowning slightly, s.h.i.+ro narrowed her eyes and observed the new armour.

The armour was constantly rotating to deflect any incoming damage. To make matters worse, she couldn't find a spot for her to attack.

She circled the monster a few times before she found an opening. The natural defence. A part of the body that not many would think about guarding during a fight.

Le dear ol' r.e.c.t.u.m.

Previously, she had stopped going for this weak point since there was no need for it. In fact, going for the weak point in those situations would only decrease her killing efficiency.

However, a perfect opportunity had presented itself. Both literally and metaphorically.

Creating a bigger spear, she took aim.

Yin Style Phantom Arts: 3rd Phantom - Counter Weight Phantom.

*BANG!!!Crack!

The party could hear something break as they suddenly felt a sense of sadness for the monster.

'Strange…' They thought.